Hou's Taika
by aiAlice
Summary: Seiji's twin sister Kimika is more trouble then he'd ever admit; Kimika's twin brother Seiji is a stickler for rules. Together can they rule the kingdom of Hou?
1. Twins

**A/N This story is based on the events that occur in the anime rather than the books. This is my first fanfiction so while I would appreciate comments take my inexperience into account.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original story, but I did create Seiji and Kimika for the purpose of this story. **

She had just a little bit farther until she was on the train, it was insight. She willed herself even faster, running as fast as she could. 'Come on, I can't miss the train again,' she kept repeating in her mind. "Yes!" She yelled with satisfaction as she lunged onto the train. She was so caught up in the moment she had forgot how fast she was moving, until she felt her shoes slip and slide on the floor. "Woah!" With a thunk she banged into another passenger on the train, falling over and taking the stranger with her.

Her already messy jet black hair now stuck to her face as a combined result of the traces of sweat on her face and the collision, the newly dyed ends found their way into her mouth and she could taste the blue dye on them. She quickly spat it out in an attempt to get rid of the awful taste.

"I told you not to run so rapidly." The calm voice came from her brother who had boarded the train slightly after she did. Even though he had run to the train station like she had, there wasn't a single hair out of place, or a drop of sweat on him. She often thought it was unfair that he could run so fast without breaking a sweat.

"You don't need to rub it in my face!" Kimika said annoyed. She always thought Seiji's goal in life was to nag her to death. 'Besides,' she thought, 'He was running too'. She moved off of the stranger and pulled down her skirt. In an attempt to look less chaotic she started to fuss with her shoulder length hair.

"Are you alright?" Seiji asked and she turned her face towards him with a 'humph!' wondering what took him so long to ask.

"Do I look ok? This idiot was standing next to the door." Kimika, feeling not at fault for what happened, wondered why Seiji had such a disappointed look on his normally happy face.

Seiji turned to the stranger that was now in the process of sitting up, "I apologize. My sister is…well my sister." Kimika was completely outraged that Seiji was more worried for a stranger then his own sister. She grabbed her bag and abruptly stood almost hitting the stranger in the head.

"I'm sitting down before all the seats are taken," she announced to her brother, and with that, Kimika turned and walked to the far end of the train leaving the two behind.

Seiji let out a sigh before turning to the stranger who was sitting on the ground. "Are you alright?" He offered his hand, but the stranger did not take it.

"I'm fine." The stranger was wearing a high school uniform that now had wrinkles on it. His short black hair didn't suit his face; Seiji had the impression that if his hair was longer it would fit him perfectly. There was something about this stranger that Seiji felt was familiar, although his attitude could use some work, he contemplated this for a while.

"Are you sure? My sister is an expert of causing trouble." The more Seiji looked the more he deliberated how different they really were. Seiji too had black hair but he often liked to keep it longer than normal, reaching about the same length as Kimika's hair. He was forced to tie it up for school but at home it was often down. Their faces were nowhere near similar and yet there was a part that was off about him, similar to Seiji, but he couldn't fathom what it was.

"It's fine, I'm used to it." The response was strange to Seiji and made him wonder how someone could be used to being ran into by…an energetic person. 'What kind of life has this person lived?' he wondered.

"Nevertheless it was improper for my sister to not apologize." He bowed, "Please excuse her rudeness."

"No, it's not a problem." He seemed so unaffected and unemotional by the whole event that Seiji felt a pinch of sorrow for him. 'He must have a difficult life if nothing affects him?' Seiji asked himself.

"I know, why don't you visit our house? I promise my sister will apologize." Seiji had a hard time leaving anyone who might need help alone. As Kimika often said he was a goody-two-shoes and a nerd. After what felt like minutes he finally answered in a monotone voice.

"Alright." The stranger looked like he didn't want to, but also that he wasn't suppose to say no.

"Excellent, My name is Sugura Seiji." Seiji took out a piece of paper to write his number on and extended his hands towards the stranger. "Here's my number, call me when you have free time today." The stranger looked at the number then at Seiji.

"My Name is Takasato Kaname." He finally said. Takasato looked at Seiji as if he had already taken up too much of his time so Seiji waited for Takasato to pocket his number before he turned to meet his sister.

"There are no seats left." Seiji looked hurt by Kimika's comment but she had chosen to be mad at him and wouldn't change her mind for at least another hour, after all he didn't even ask her if she was hurt by the fall. Seiji even spent a ridiculous amount of time talking with that stranger. She had a right to be angry at him.

"That's fine I can stand." Kimika couldn't believe he wasn't even going to say, 'I'm sorry are you okay?' Seiji wasn't even nagging to her about apologizing to the stranger, it was like he was utterly ignoring her. Kimika thought, 'He's not supposed to ignore me; I'm supposed to ignore him!' And with a turn of her head that was exactly what Kimika did until the two reached their stop.

"Move." Seiji didn't even notice that it was their stop thus enraging Kimika more. 'Don't tell me this stranger is so important that he doesn't even remember where we get off!' Kimika ranted inside her mind. "Humph!" She finally said. After all, she was supposed to be more important than some random stranger.

"Kimika?" Seiji walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder.

"What?" Kimika believed that Seiji couldn't even tell that she was angry at him, though she smirked a little when he flinched at her tone.

"Aren't you going to be vexed if we're late for school?" Kimika stopped for a second to look at her brother before she broke into a sprint, muttering about how she forgot she was late, and how she hoped to make it on time. "Not so fast, you shouldn't be running like that. What if you bump into someone again?" Seiji began to run after Kimika, but at a less frantic pace.

They made it to school on time but Seiji couldn't help but wonder why Kimika was so angry at him. It could have been that he was preoccupied by his conversation with Takasato or she was still upset over her fall. Either way he needed to make sure Kimika would apologize to Takasato, though he wasn't quite sure how to do that. She had an extremely stubborn personality that even Seiji couldn't beat unless she was willing to back down herself. While pondering about what to do Kimika stormed up to Seiji's desk and stuck out her hand. "Hey, give me your lunch." She demanded.

"Did mom give you fish again?"

"Yes." Kimika would eat any kind of food but she hated fish, while Seiji couldn't eat any type of meat. His stomach couldn't digest it, which their mother and Kimika always said was the main reason Seiji was sick a lot. Because of this, Seiji had to be home schooled for most of his life; Kimika always chose to poke fun at Seiji whenever she could because of it.

"Do you recall that guy from the train?" Seiji said while handing his food over to her, which in return got him an evil glare. 'I felt this wasn't going to be simple,' Seiji thought.

"Yeah, what about him?" Kimika's chopsticks picked up a carrot which was quickly placed in her mouth.

"I invited him over, and was hoping you'd apologize." Kimika practically dropped her chopsticks before she exploded.

"You invited him over?" The desk shook with protest as Kimika's hands pounded on it. And some of their fellow classmates began to back away while their lunches were still intact. She stood up, annoyed with Seiji's temporary loss of brain cells. "He's a complete stranger and you invited him OVER?" She yelled.

"Takasato isn't a complete stranger, we met him today." Seiji's quiet reply seemed pathetic even to his own ears.

"Takasato? When did you become so close to call him Takasato?" Seiji froze in his chair hoping Kimika wouldn't do anything stupid, like fling the table over. She had a horrible temper when she was seriously angry.

"Well, he appeared to be someone I could get along with." And he did have something in common with Takasato, didn't he?

"You've only talked to him for like five minutes! How could you know that?" She had a valid point but Seiji couldn't help but feel that Takasato wasn't just a normal stranger.

"He left a good impression, that's all." How could Seiji get her to understand that they were alike when he didn't even understand it?

"Good impression? Who says that?" Kimika shook her head at him before continuing, "Fine, then you should have gone to a café, not invited him over." There was no response to that because Kimika was right, but it was the first idea that came to Seiji's mind at the time. The other classmates moved back to their seats when Kimika sat down to eat, even with the lingering tension coming off of her.

Lunch had almost ended before Kimika talked to him again. "Fine, I'll do it." She grumpily said to Seiji. His eyes lightened, and his lips weaved into a smile. He was always happy when Kimika did what was right, and felt a sense of pride that he helped her in some way.

Kimika couldn't understand why having this stranger over was such a big deal as she watched her brother rummage through the fridge. He was trying to figure out what Kimika should make for dessert. She personally couldn't understand Seiji's need to be close to this stranger; he seemed weird and creepy to her. "How do we know he's going to come?" Her hand tightened its griped on the kitchen knife she was using to cut the vegetables.

"Takasato said he would." Seiji could be a blind idiot sometimes, and as much as she'd like, Kimika couldn't say any more about him coming over. So she chose to take it out on the food she was cutting, with her brother making suggestions about dessert in the back round.

"Does he even know where we live?" She tossed the knife on the counter and bent over to find a frying pan.

"I gave him my number and told him to call." 'Great,' she thought, 'So we get to wait around for someone who we don't even know will come.' While she waited for the frying pan to warm up, Kimika considered other ways this day sucked when she heard Seiji's phone ring.

"Is that him?" Kimika switched her attention to Seiji, who was trying to wiggle the phone out of his pocket. When he finally managed, he looked at the number then at Kimika.

"I don't know."

"Well pick up the phone before he hangs up." Her anxiety was hard to miss.

"Hello, this is Seiji."

…

"Yes."

…

"Yes."

…

"Alright, if you go to the main station, I can meet you."

…

"Yes, I'll meet you there soon." He slid his phone back into its place.

"So?" She said, tapping her right foot on the ground.

"I'm going to meet him and bring him back here." He walked to the door and thought better of just leaving without saying goodbye and said, "I'll be back soon." Kimika grunted angrily but went back to cooking without further complaining to her brother.

Seiji was standing outside of the train station waiting to see Takasato get off. Once he spotted him a smile enveloped his face and he waved a hand. "Takasato, over here."

"Hello." In spite of everything, Takasato was talking in the same uncaring tone as earlier. Seiji even noticed that he was still wearing his school uniform, which meant he hadn't been home today.

It would have been a long and awkward walk back to the house without any conversation. It took Seiji some time, and a little bit of luck, before he stumbled onto a topic Takasato actually had an opinion about.

"So what do you like to paint?"

"I just paint what's in my head."

"Really?" The conversation was going to end relatively soon if Seiji couldn't think of another topic. He was beginning to wonder if Takasato actually liked art or if it was just something that he did well. "What do you paint?" Takasato had been staring straight, which seemed like an attempt to keep his eyes averted from Seiji.

"Just what's in my head."

"Like your dreams?" His eyes finally managed to meet Seiji's.

"Yeah, but…" He looked away again distracted by some thought far off in the distance that Seiji couldn't reach. Seiji studied him for a few minutes before intruding on his thought.

"But?"

"It's nothing." Seiji could tell that whatever this thought was, it wasn't nothing. He even wondered if it was the same something that made Takasato feel so nostalgic to him.

"Well if you're worried that I might find you odd, then how about I tell you something peculiar?" Takasato looked at him again. "I believe we're similar, but I can't comprehend why. There is an aspect about you that has a sense of home. It's bizarre because I've never thought of anything as home before, except Kimika that is."

"I think I know the feeling." A hint of a smile began to show on Takasato's face. "I feel like there's an aspect familiar about you too. I can almost see the answer in my mind but it's too far back to recall. It's like my paintings, I feel that what I paint is real but I don't know why. Sugimoto keeps saying I should forget, but I know there is something important that I need to remember." Before Takasato went into another deep thought, Seiji spoke up.

"I'm sure you'll remember if it's really as important as you think." The awkwardness faded away as Takasato had come to accept that Seiji and he weren't so different. Takasato decided to tell Seiji about his dream-like memories, and Seiji was happy to listen.

When the apartment door opened, Kimika jumped off the couch. "Finally you're back. I was wondering if you died or something."

"Takasato, this is my sister Kimika," Seiji said while taking his shoes off and putting his feet in a pair of white slippers. After looking behind him to make sure Takasato closed the door he gave Kimika a quizzical look. "Who's sorry for bumping into you this morning." 'Oh…right.' She thought.

"Hehe…I am really sorry about that. It's just that I have a tendency to snap, especially when I'm running late," Kimika told Takasato with a hint of sarcasim.

"It's fine," Takasato replied.

"And to show how sorry I am, I was wondering if you would join us for dinner." She led the boys to the table where she had put all of the food. "Sorry if it is cold, you guys took a while." They sat down and began eating.

"My sister is a good cook, isn't she?" Seiji was brimming with happiness at his sister's skills.

"Yes, but where are your parents?" Kimika flashed a wicked smile at Takasato, but before she was able to come up with an absurd lie, Seiji answered.

"Our father died a long time ago and mother works late." Kimika gave Seiji a quick glare, but let it drop. "It's just Kimika and me most nights."

"But it's no big deal, after all, I'm such a good cook because mom works late." Seiji was aware of Kimika's growing annoyance for it often happened when their mom or dad got mentioned. The rest of dinner was silent.

"I'm going to walk Takasato back to the train station." Kimika looked at Seiji then stared at Takasato before walking into the kitchen. She was muttering about men never doing the dishes as she went.

"Did I say something?" Takasato inquired. Seiji looked at where Kimika used to be and then at Takasato and shook his head.

"No Kimika is just like that. You just need to ignore her at times." Seiji then walked to the front door. "Shall we go? I know a short cut." Seiji's short cut ran through the park, near the sea. It was poorly lit and to make matters, worse many of the lights began to flicker. Seiji was about to suggest going back to get a flashlight when he noticed Takasato had stopped.

Takasato's attention seemed to drift towards a tree, and Seiji's eyes fallowed. They both became mesmerized by a boy, whose blond hair was beautiful beyond words. His strange clothes which should have been obvious, were masked by his surprising appearance. But when the boy slide down the tree, they were the first part about the boy Seiji noticed.

The boy made his way towards Takasato, his eyes brimming with anger. "I've been looking for you everywhere Taiki. People were beginning to think you were dead." The strange boy noticed Seiji for the first time and gave him a quizzical look. "Who are you?" His face turned from puzzlement to exasperation. "What are you doing here? Honestly, who would think it'd be so hard to keep Taiho out of Hourai?" With a hand placed disapprovingly on his hip, he looked at both of them. "I've come to take you home Taiki, and I should probably take you back too Houki, otherwise Lady Gyokuyou and the Nyosen will yell at me."

"I know you," Takasato said in confused wonder. Seiji turned and looked at him with an observant wondering glance. "But why do I know you?" Takasato seemed to be at a loss of words so Seiji thought hard about this new stranger.

"Was he part of your dreams?" Seiji finally said. Takasato hesitated, giving himself time to think it over.

"I think so…he was." Takasato moved his hand to his head and winced as if it would help him remember something. It must have worked because he then said, "Enki." It was like a light flashed on for him. "It's Enki. I can't believe I forgot about you and about… Gyokuyou. What happened to King Tai?"

"No one knows, Tai has been overrun by Yoma for years now," Enki looked distraught.

"I must go back, I have to find him!" Takasato became frantic and looked like he would do whatever it took to make him closer to seeing this King of Tai again.

"Taiki calm down, I'll create a shoku to take us back. But are you sure you're ready to leave?" Enki asked. Takasato took a quick look at Japan and thought of all that had happened since he got back and nodded his head.

"Yes," he said. Enki then looked at Seiji.

"And you? If you have any goodbyes to make, now is the time because I don't know if you'll ever be able to come back here again." The weight of the situation hit Seiji, he was just asked, no, not asked, told that he was leaving Japan for what could be forever. He had no idea what either boy was talking about, but at the same time, he wanted to go. The truly tragic thing was that Seiji wanted to follow them and didn't even think he'd miss Japan. He glanced at the ocean, then took a good long look at the park and buildings in view and turned to Enki.

"I can't." Seiji finally told Enki.

"Houki, this isn't your home, not really and Hou needs you." Seiji shook his head at Enki, showing he would not change his mind.

"I don't care. I can't leave Kimika alone," was Seiji's final decision. Enki sighed and put his hand on his hip again. He then used his other hand and pointed at Seiji.

"I understand why you don't want to leave but you don't really belong here, and if you were to take this Kimika with you, do you really think she'd be happy?" Enki's words made perfect sense to Seiji. He stood, hypnotized by Enki's words for a while, thinking about it. 'Would Kimika be happy if I took her with me to a strange world?' he thought and found that the more he thought about it, the closer he came to an answer.

'If I was leaving and it was between whether Kimika came or not, she'd be extremely irate if I left her behind,' he thought. He knew there was the possibility she might not be happy in the other world but she would be even more upset if he left her behind. Seiji lifted his head and knew what had to happen; it wouldn't be easy but nothing ever was with his sister.

"If I'm to leave, I won't do it without Kimika," Seiji almost demanded. Enki tilted his head, hand still on his hip, thinking over what Seiji had said.

"Are you sure?" Enki asked. When Seiji nodded, Enki sighed. "Fine, we better get her before we leave then."

With his decision made, the only thing left to do was to get Kimika, which Seiji was not looking forward too. He could hear her complaints already, and yet he knew her answer would be yes.


	2. UnKnown loss

**A/N This story is based on the events that occur in the anime rather than the books. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original story.**

Kimika had been pushed and prodded, all day, and was about to scream. It wasn't enough, that she was here in this strange world; these people felt the need to dress her up like a doll, and then leave her in this room alone. 'King En needs to speak with Houki', one of the maid-like women had said, before she was abandoned to an empty room. 'What's the point of being here if I'm only going to be trapped inside this room!', she thought. With that notion in the front of her mind she decided to explore.

From what Kimika could tell upon arrival at the Palace of En, it was very simplistic with its decor. There were no elaborate paintings hanging on the walls, and not very much to look at in the corridors. Even the room she had been tossed into contained little more than furniture. If what Enki had said was true, then king En had been ruling for over 500 years. So, where were all treasures that would come from over 500 years of ruling? Was the king so stingy as to not allow others to see them, or was he such a horrible ruler that he didn't have any? Either way, it mattered little, because this wasn't Seiji and Kimika's final destination.

Enki had told them before they left, that they would first stop in En, and then they would travel with Taiki to Tai, and from Tai travel to Hou. Enki had some elaborate reason for why it had to be done this way, but Kimika had stopped paying attention to Enki before he finished. So now, she was out of the loop and bored to no end, which was why she opened the door and walked out of her bar-less prison.

As she opened door after door, Kimika had realized that all of the rooms in her hall had been guestrooms, much like her own; dull and uninteresting. She chose to look elsewhere for something to do, for this corridor held nothing of interest to her. When she turned the corner to leave, she could just make out the bottom of a blue dress much like the one worn by the maids she'd met earlier, a simplistic pattern made out of fine cloth. It wasn't the most expensive material, but it wasn't cheap either.

Kimika decided to run towards this person in hopes of meeting her. She sprinted down the corridor, turned, and saw the maid. "Wait!" She yelled. The maid turned to see Kimika running towards her, her eyes widened and she fell to the floor trying to bow, dropping the papers she was holding.

Kimika had to force herself to a stop, before she ran over the maid and her paper work. She took a few minutes, to fully regain her balance, and then looked at the maid on the floor. Kimika's face warped with confusion, while looking at the maid bowing on the floor. "Can I help you Madam?" The maid asked, and suddenly Kimika remembered why she had chased her in the first place.

"You wouldn't know of something I could do for fun, would you?" The maid raised her head, and gave Kimika a big smile.

"Yes, I do know a few things madam." She shuffled her papers into a pile, "But what do you normally like to do?" While Kimika was wondering what things she does, that they might do in this world, the maid stood, papers in hand.

Kimika shook her head, "I can't think of anything."

"Well then," She did a less formal bow, "If you wouldn't mind, I could tell you things I enjoy." Kimika smiled and nodded her head. Seeing this, the maid continued, "You could go to the library, there are many fascinating books here. There is also the garden; it's beautiful all year round. There are many games that are kept in storage, which you could play. If you like sparing, I'm sure one of the officers wouldn't mind a round. If you like food the kitchen is always open to guests." She stopped for a moment before continuing, "Does anything suit your taste Madame?"

Kimika knew what she wanted to do the moment she heard the word kitchen. But first she had something else she wanted to do. "You wouldn't happen to have a maid outfit that I could barrow, would you?"

With a quizzical glance the maid responded, "I do keep a spare, but what use would you have for one?" With a smile and a few words Kimika convinced the maid to lend her an outfit, without giving away her real purpose. She was then lead to the maid's room, Rikkyo her name was, and was helped into the maid's uniform. It took some time to cover her hair, so that the dyed ends wouldn't show, but after all the blue was out of sight Kimika couldn't help but feel impressed looking at herself in a mirror. With an excited giggle she asked where the kitchen was. The way Rikkyo lead her seemed more like a maze then hallways inside of a palace.

When the two finally arrived at the kitchen kimika said, "Thank you". The maid then smiled at her and said 'I must be off' leaving in a rush, papers still in hand. Kimika placed her hand upon the door and pushed it open. Once open, she could see how huge the kitchen was, and all the people it contained. A woman, whose hair was adorned with a special style, approached Kimika. Kimika smiled her biggest smile; the one Seiji always thought was the start of trouble and walked into the kitchen to meet the woman.

Seiji found himself in a small room, filled to the brim with scrolls, staring at king En. The king of En was a sight to behold. His long black hair tied at the upper-back area of his head, and he projected a feeling in Seiji, that made him disinclined to ever be viewed as king En's enemy. He turned his gaze away from king En, so as not to be ensnared by it, thus the rest of the room came into focus.

Seiji's eyes wandered onto Enki, who was sitting on the only desk in the room, talking with Taiki, who had in turn taken one of the seats in front of the desk. "Enki did tell you why you're here I take it?" King En's voice called out, seeming to demand attention without striking fear.

Seiji nodded, "He told me, that he was required to report to you when he returned, and that his next assignment was to send Taiki back to Tai. These both are to happen before I can be sent to Hou." King En put his right arm on the table, and leaned his head against his hand. He looked Seiji in the eyes for a while, then sighed.

"That is part of it; however you must understand that Hou might not welcome you with open arms." King En's brown eyes met Seiji's, before taking in his baffled expression. "I'm assuming Enki did not mention anything about the previous Kirin of Hou."

"No." Seiji admitted, and another sigh escaped from king En, though this one seemed agitated.

"Sit down, please." Seiji was perfectly fine standing, but he also knew that king En wasn't really asking either, so he sat. "The previous ruler of Hou had become corrupt and caused shitsudou, however before he and Hourin were killed by it, Lord Gekkei killed them both. While he did have his reasons, there is no guarantee that he and the people of Hou do not still dislike the kirin."

Enki turned his face towards king En, his anger apparent. "Are you trying to scare him?"

Without a change in appearance king En replied, "He needs to know what could happen." Enki jumped off the table, and put his hands on it.

"You make it sound like they will try to kill him!"

"It is a possibility," the king replied. After a long stare off between the two, Enki backed off. Still angry though. "Do not misunderstand, the people of Hou are not evil, and the people ruling it are not tyrants. I cannot say for sure, but there is a possibility that they are fearful of the past repeating itself."

"You said the last king of Hou caused shitsudou, what is that?" Seiji asked.

"Shitsudou is a sign from the Heavens that the king is not ruling the kingdom justly and fair. It causes the kirin to get sick." Seiji pondered the king's words.

"You couldn't mean sick; after all I doubt this, shitsudou, is anything like a cold." Seiji stated.

"Of course it's nothing like a cold," came his reply. Seiji looked from king En to Enki, and thought that Enki must have giving him some type of warning, because king En soon gave a light sigh, followed by him straitening up in his chair. "I'm sorry but if you truly wish to know more you might want to ask Enki or Taiki latter. There are other matters that we must discuss." King En looked at Seiji for approval to continue, for which Seiji nodded. "You must understand that your sister cannot stay with you at Hou palace."

"Why?" Seiji, was confused by king En's words. Enki had promised to take Seiji _and _Kimika to Hou, and now he was saying she couldn't stay there.

"Hou palace is the home of the ruler of Hou. Do you think that whoever you pick to be the next ruler will willingly allow her to live in their home?" Seiji felt puzzled, after all, if he was allowed to live at Hou palace, why couldn't his sister.

"I am permitted to live there." King En nodded at Seiji's words, and waited for him to continue. "Kimika is my sister." King En's eyes were glued to Seiji, so Seiji knew king En also believed this as truth. Seiji seemed to have a hard time pulling out the next words. "Then where will she live? What will she do?" King En's eyes softened at the sorrow shown on Seiji's face. Enki walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

But it was Enki that replied to Seiji's worry, "She can live anywhere else in Hou, except Hou palace. When you arrive you can ask, for arrangements to be made. You could even ask for a job to be found for her, if you wish". Seiji still felt uncomfortable, but at least she could still stay near.

"I don't think she should go to Mount Hou when Houki goes for the Shouzan." Taiki said meekly. Seiji gave a look of shock at Takasato, which caused Taiki to quickly look down.

"Why?" It came out quiet and sad, like Seiji had already given up fighting for Kimika.

Taiki looked at Enki, hoping he could explain it. "When you go to Mount Hou, there will be people from Hou there who are hoping to be the next ruler." Enki paused. "I think Taiki feels that Kimika would be a distraction, that she might keep you from picking a ruler."

"Why would she prevent me from choosing a ruler? There is no reason why she would do that." Seiji knew Kimika would never stop him from doing anything he'd find important.

"She would be a distraction." King En agreed, as the conversation continued Seiji's mind wandered. He couldn't imagine it, how could Kimika be a distraction to him? While other issues were mentioned, Seiji's mind always seemed to go back to Kimika.

Seiji was so preoccupied, that he had no idea how late it was, until a maid came to escort them to dinner. With much on his mind, he and the others made their way to the dinning quarters.

Kimika's plan had been an absolute success; she had been accepted as an extra hand in the kitchen. She had been cutting food for the past hour, and had just found a chance to start the second part of her plan. Quickly, while the head chef was busy looking over the dishes; Kimika got her ingredients together. She snatched some sugar, salt, vanilla, butter, milk, eggs, and had to search a few minutes for cornstarch, cocoa powder, and chocolate.

The other ladies in the kitchen watched her in disbelief. One was walking towards the head chef in an attempt to tell her of Kimika's actions; however the head chef left the kitchen to introduce herself to King En's guests. Kimika, noticing her absence, took the chance to make her chocolate pudding. By the time the head chef returned the ladies had forgotten about Kimika's weird actions.

When it came time for dessert to be served, Kimika told the server that 'Houki' had specially asked for chocolate pudding. The server looked very uncomfortable, and kept telling Kimika she couldn't give it to Houki, but finally agreed when Kimika threatened to serve it to him herself. Just as the server was about to exit the kitchen, the head chef yelled.

"Stop!" She demanded, for which the server turned. "What do you think you're doing? How dare you try to give _that_ to our king!" The server gave a small bow apologizing thoroughly. In the process, explaining that the new kitchen hand had forced her to serve it.

The head chef then turns towards Kimika. "Is this true? You were going to feed the Hou Kirin this." She points with disgust at Kimika's pudding.

"What's wrong with that?" Kimika asked a little annoyed. "He loves chocolate pudding." After looking Kimika over the head chef responds with repulsion.

"Even if he did like," she paused covering her nose, as if the pudding smelled, "something as revolting as this, you would never be the one to prepare it." Her eyes had a glint of comprehension, before her poster turned supple, and her eyes changed to contain a deadly glaze. "You were trying to poison the Hou Kirin, weren't you?" Her voice rang through-out the kitchen. Kimika was at first too shocked to respond, but she found her voice.

"What!" Kimika was outraged. "Why would I hurt Seiji? Maybe you would, but I would never!" Her yells were ear splitting, and only the head chef managed not to flinch.

The head chef walked up and slapped Kimika. The sudden silence after Kimika's words left an eerie feeling about the kitchen. "How dare you try to get rid of your actions, by blaming me." She walked towards the back door and summoned a guard into the kitchen. "I will let you off light. I won't even mention this to king En, because your attempt to kill the Hou Kirin would never work."

The guard moved to take Kimika, "What?", she screeched. It was a while before the guard caught her, because she kept wiggling her way out of reach. The guard tired from catching her, was unprepared when Kimika tried to kick him where it counts. The guard was about to let her go due to pain, but remembered better of it. He then told a kitchen hand to fetch more guards.

When the kitchen hand returned with the guards, there were broken pieces of pottery everywhere, and most of the women in the kitchen had been standing outside the doorway. The new guards managed to grab Kimika, and with the advice of the previous guard, they not only tied her hands with rope, but gagged her.

When asked what her crime is the head chef only said, "She is to be banned from the palace". The guards tilted their head, and took Kimika away. Once they were outside of En palace, they tossed her in the dirt, more than glad to be rid of her. They left the two guards posted at the door to untie her.

Now free Kimika's first move was to get back into the palace, however no matter what she tried they wouldn't let her in. She even told them that 'Houki' was her brother, but it held no effect on the guards. A normal person would give up now, but not Kimika. For Kimika had decided to sneak into the palace, but needed time to come up with a plan. With her biggest grin she walked away from the Palace of En, and knew it wouldn't be long before she was back.


End file.
